ON December 30, 2021, a joint convention of AIAWU and Bihar Khet Mazdoor Union was held in IMA Hall at Patna.

The convention was inaugurated by V Sivadasan, Rajya Sabha member from Kerala and leader of AIAWU. Former MP, Nagendra Nath Ojha, Dhirendra Jha along with Janaki Paswan, Satyadev Ram, Birendra Prasad Gupta, Bhola Prasad Diwakar, Devendra Chaurasia and Ramakant were the members of the presidium.

While inaugurating, V Sivadasan discussed extensively on the condition of farmworkers in Kerala and said that the major reason for the progress of Kerala is the improvement in the living conditions of the farmworkers. Kerala is at the forefront of the country in terms of wages, food security, education, pension etc. Today it is necessary that a comprehensive law should be made in Bihar on the lines of Kerala, only then it is possible to improve the living conditions of farm and rural labourers in Bihar.

Nagendra Nath Ojha said that after the abolition of zamindari in Bihar, other important struggles of the agricultural workers like the struggle for land, wages, living with dignity and housing etc., were also fought. The current situation is challenging all of that we have achieved.

In the concluding statement, Dhirendra Jha said that attacks on dalits, women and minorities have intensified under the Nitish government. Ramsevak Ram, a sanitation worker in Samastipur, was beaten to death in the police station on demand of due wages. He said that the resistance movement against the desolation of the poor would intensify across Bihar. The government will have to make a new housing law and without an alternative system, the desecration of the downtrodden and the poor will not stop.

Other speakers said that the latest report of NITI Aayog has exposed the development of Bihar; 51.91 per cent of people are below the poverty line. There is corruption in all the schemes for the welfare of the poor. Nitish government’s claim of development is completely hollow.

In the convention, a central law was demanded for farm-rural workers. Implementation of the report of the Land Reform Commission, prohibiting the desolation of the poor without making alternative arrangements, 200 days of work in MNREGA and a minimum wage of 600 rupees were another major demands raised.

The convention decided to hand over the memoranda on the above demands to the chief minister and MPs and MLAs of the state. A joint meeting will be held in the districts from January 1 to 15, joint demonstrations at the district headquarters on January 27 and will work for the success of the proposed national strike on February 23-24.